


This is Me You're Talking To

by MissChelleMcCoy



Series: To Boldly Go [4]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek Beyond Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-29 10:23:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7680706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissChelleMcCoy/pseuds/MissChelleMcCoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim and Bones' journey through Star Trek Beyond as a married couple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Year Older

**Author's Note:**

> In previous installments, I’ve written that Starfleet still frowns on same-sex relationships. Revisiting this now, I have no idea why I would have ever written something like that. I really believe that Starfleet is more welcoming about this type of thing. I think Gene would have wanted it this way. Moving forward, I will either be rescinding this or fixing it accordingly.

“Jim, you look like crap,” his husband told him as they walked down the corridor after Spock turned to follow through on his captain's orders.

Jim was a bit tired as they headed toward their quarters. He was a bit rundown and no one knew that better than Bones. “Thank you, Bones.”

“You have that little vein popping out of your forehead again,” he did his best as always to make Jim feel better. “You okay?”

Things had been a little stressed on the captain of the USS Enterprise lately. Bones could tell something was wrong, but his husband was keeping it to himself. Jim kept assuring him he was alright, but Bones always knew differently. He wasn’t going to push him though. Jim’s answer was similar every time he asked.

“Never better! Just another day in the Fleet!”

After 966 days into their 5-year mission, Jim had begun to feel as though things were becoming episodic. The only respite he really felt he had was his husband, but there were things he was keeping to himself, things he didn’t know how to tell even him. He knew Bones was in space just because of him. He’d joined because he had nothing left after his divorce, but he had found Jim instead. They were happy. Together. Jim wasn’t so sure he was happy in space any longer. The farther out they went, the more he found himself wondering what it was they were trying to accomplish. If the universe was truly endless, perhaps they were striving for something that was truly out of reach.

The ship neared starbase Yorktown where Jim was hoping a break in routine would offer some respite. Later on, as the stars continued to stream by the window where he sat waiting for Bones after shifts having begun drinking without the man he had let into his heart, needing a bit of numbing before they reached their destination. Bones would understand.

When Bones walked in, he apologized for being late. It wasn’t something he had to do. Jim understood his responsibilities he had as CMO, but he listened anyway. Scotty’s tiny assistant who had become a staple on the ship just as much as anyone else was sick and Bones had been attending to him.

Coming up on the other side of the bar from his husband, he looked at the state he was in and turned to look at the bottle there beside him. “What the hell are you drinking?” Jim wasn’t precisely sure what it was, but he offered up his best guess. “My god, man! Are you trying to go blind? That stuff’s illegal" Jim lifted his head to look at his husband more closely. “Besides, I found this in Chekhov's locker.”

“Wow!”

"Right? I mean, I always assumed he'd be a--"

"A vodka guy."

Bones finished with his husband, smiling, "vodka man."

"Exactly."

He walked over and grabbed himself a tumbler and came back to stand across from Jim. "I wanted to have something appropriate for your birthday."

Jim sighed, dropping his head. "Ugh, it's in a couple days. You know I don't care about that."

"I know," Bones said, pouring each of them the contraband from Chekov's locker. "I know you don't like celebrating it on the day because it's also the day your pa bit the dust. I was being sensitive." Not really, but that was just the relationship the two of them had always had.

"Did they teach you about bedside manner at medical school? Or is it just your southern charm?"

The two of them clinked the other glass on the bar between them that Bones had filled up in honor of Jim's father, something they always did, before clinking their own glasses together and taking drinks at the same time. The two moaned their pleasure at the burn of the glorious alcohol.

"Oh..." Bones' moan was a bit lower than Jim's, considering Jim's already down state.

"Oh yeah," Jim nodded, "that's good!"

"Lordy!" Bones completed his thought after Jim praised the liquor, laughing slightly with him. He was trying his best not to let Jim wallow too much, but he always was a bit of a downer on his birthday. Leaning down onto the bar to be closer to his husband and to enjoy his drink more, he asked, "You gonna call your mom?"

"Yeah, of course," Jim told him, " I'll call her on the day." He silently thought to himself before shaking his head, almost in disbelief. "One year older."

"Well, now that's usually how it works," Bones deadpanned, taking another sip.

"A year older than he ever got to be." Bones looked up at his husband, not saying a word, knowing this was as much as Jim had talked about what was bothering him lately than he had been getting. He hoped Jim could get it all out. Hopefully, he'd let him in like he usually did. "He joined Starfleet because he... he believed in it... I joined on a dare."

Bones countered, knowing that wasn't all it was. "You joined to see if you could live up to him." Jim looked up at Bones, weighing his words carefully. "You spent all this time trying to be George Kirk, now you're wondering what it means to be Jim. Why you're out here." He let his words sink in a bit before offering up another toast. "To perfect eyesight and a full head a hair."

Sulu's voice came over the comm, alerting them that they were approaching Yorktown. Jim stood, leaving the alcohol behind.

"Let's keep the birthday thing under wraps, huh?"

"You know me," Bones said, capping off the bottle, "Mr. Sensitive."

It wasn't long before they were disembarking. Bones knew Jim had to touch base with Commodore Paris so he told him he'd catch up with him later. Jim didn't like keeping things from his husband, but until he made up his mind, he had to keep this bit of info from him. He'd already let on back when they were sharing drinks together to take the edge off, but he hadn't come out and told him what he was thinking because of how he was feeling. How could he?

 


	2. Into the ... Temporarily Hidden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Kirk's meeting with Commodore Paris, the crew heads out on a rescue mission having no time for the much needed respite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be touching on every part of the movie, just what is pertinent to McKirk and the progression of this installment.

Jim hadn’t expected to be heading out on a rescue mission upon meeting up with Commodore Paris, but as members of Starfleet, and especially when you had the only ship in the area capable of such a mission, there was no refusal. He knew the crew needed the time on Yorktown to recharge, but they had their duty and it trumped downtime. He especially felt sorry for those like Sulu who had been so long away from his family, but they all knew what it meant to be in Starfleet.

Bones met Kirk at the loading dock, his mouth closed in a tight line as his husband approached. He had a million things to say to him as to how he felt about not staying at the starbase, but when he saw how deflated the captain of the Federation flagship truly was, he kept it to himself. Instead, he lifted his arm to wrap around his shoulders, heading onto the ship. He wasn’t going to give him a hard time. His husband was already dealing with more than he felt he could share with him right now. It took everything Bones had not to take it personally and not to push him, but he had patience beyond anyone else’s capacity with James T. Kirk.Once aboard the Enterprise again, Kirk turned to Bones. “Bones, before we head back out there, I need to tell you… I’ve submitted my…”

Once aboard the Enterprise again, Kirk turned to Bones. “Bones, before we head back out there, I need to tell you… I’ve submitted my…”“Captain.” Spock’s voice came up from behind them, silencing Kirk as the two of them turned to face him. “The crew is reporting to their stations. We should be able to depart in less than a half an hour.”

“Captain.” Spock’s voice came up from behind them, silencing Kirk as the two of them turned to face him. “The crew is reporting to their stations. We should be able to depart in less than a half an hour.” Jim nodded, giving Spock a reassuring smile more for himself than the Vulcan. “Thank you, Spock.”The Vulcan nodded his head and continued toward his destination on the bridge. Jim turned back to Bones. Maybe it would be best if he waited until after they get back. “I’ll tell you when we get back,” he promised him, reaching out and taking his left hand with his own, looking down at their wedding bands. He knew that they were in this together and Bones would like living on Yorktown base, but he still couldn’t bring himself to tell him. “I promise,” he said, looking back up at him and leaning in to press his lips to his. “We should report to our own stations, Bones.”

The Vulcan nodded his head and continued toward his destination on the bridge. Jim turned back to Bones. Maybe it would be best if he waited until after they get back. “I’ll tell you when we get back,” he promised him, reaching out and taking his left hand with his own, looking down at their wedding bands. He knew that they were in this together and Bones would like living on Yorktown base, but he still couldn’t bring himself to tell him. “I promise,” he said, looking back up at him and leaning in to press his lips to his. “We should report to our own stations, Bones.”Sighing heavily, Bones resigned to yet again letting Jim get away with not telling him what’s going on. He nodded his head, giving his hand a tight squeeze and stepping closer to him just for a moment. “I’m holding you to that, Jim. You’ve been keeping this inside you long enough.”

Sighing heavily, Bones resigned to yet again letting Jim get away with not telling him what’s going on. He nodded his head, giving his hand a tight squeeze and stepping closer to him just for a moment. “I’m holding you to that, Jim. You’ve been keeping this inside you long enough.”It was Jim’s turn to sigh heavily, knowing that his husband deserved to know everything. He’d been keeping everything locked inside him for far too long and Bones deserved better than that. “I promise,” he repeated himself before giving him one last kiss, this time a bit more quickly yet more firmly than last time. “I love you,” he told him softly before pulling away from him and following off the way Spock had left.

It was Jim’s turn to sigh heavily, knowing that his husband deserved to know everything. He’d been keeping everything locked inside him for far too long and Bones deserved better than that. “I promise,” he repeated himself before giving him one last kiss, this time a bit more quickly yet more firmly than last time. “I love you,” he told him softly before pulling away from him and following off the way Spock had left.

Bones watched Jim walk away, sighing himself yet again. He knew they would talk when Kirk was ready to. They always did. This time just seemed extra drawn out. “I love you,” he said silently, knowing Kirk probably didn’t hear him, but he still wanted to say it. There wasn’t anyone in this world who meant as much to him as Jim did, except for Joanna. It had been a long three years since he’d seen his daughter. He kept a portrait in the quarters he kept with Jim, but that was different than actually being able to hold his daughter in his arms. The two of them were his life and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for either of them.Bones realized he wasn’t needed in medical right now, so instead of going there, he headed to the bridge. If there was one place on the ship where Bones spent most of his on shift time more than medical, it was on the bridge. It had been that way even before he and Kirk got married. Before coming back from the Enterprise D and their relationship being revealed, their relationship had been unconventional to say the least. Bones had chosen not to be with other people, but Kirk had a reputation, and they both agreed that he would continue on as though they weren’t in a relationship, sleeping with any woman who looked his way, more or less. Bones had never been jealous, and no one had ever thought anything of how close the two of them were… in spite of how much time he spent on the bridge.

Bones realized he wasn’t needed in medical right now, so instead of going there, he headed to the bridge. If there was one place on the ship where Bones spent most of his on shift time more than medical, it was on the bridge. It had been that way even before he and Kirk got married. Before coming back from the Enterprise D and their relationship being revealed, their relationship had been unconventional to say the least. Bones had chosen not to be with other people, but Kirk had a reputation, and they both agreed that he would continue on as though they weren’t in a relationship, sleeping with any woman who looked his way, more or less. Bones had never been jealous, and no one had ever thought anything of how close the two of them were… in spite of how much time he spent on the bridge.“Attention crew of the Enterprise: Our mission is straightforward… to rescue a crew stranded on a planet in uncharted space. Our trajectory will take us through an unstable nebula one which will disable all communication with Starfleet. We’re gonna be on our own. The Enterprise has something no other ship in the fleet has: you. As we’ve come to understand, there is no such thing as the unknown… only the temporarily hidden.”

“Attention crew of the Enterprise: Our mission is straightforward… to rescue a crew stranded on a planet in uncharted space. Our trajectory will take us through an unstable nebula one which will disable all communication with Starfleet. We’re gonna be on our own. The Enterprise has something no other ship in the fleet has: you. As we’ve come to understand, there is no such thing as the unknown… only the temporarily hidden.”

Jim knew he was asking a lot out of his crew, he seemed to do that a lot, but it was because he had faith in them. Others would say that he dragged them along on his harebrained schemes, but he knew they could do everything he asked of them. He did have faith in them.Bones did his best not to stand there staring at his husband when he found himself on the bridge, but sometimes i was unavoidable.Jim looked up at him, and to Bones, it slightly looked as though he was looking for his approval. He knew it wasn’t needed, but Bones did approve. If there was one thing Bones knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, James T. Kirk was the best captain in the fleet. He didn’t think he was at all biased for believing this. Sure, he thought he ran off with his head

Bones did his best not to stand there staring at his husband when he found himself on the bridge, but sometimes i was unavoidable.Jim looked up at him, and to Bones, it slightly looked as though he was looking for his approval. He knew it wasn’t needed, but Bones did approve. If there was one thing Bones knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, James T. Kirk was the best captain in the fleet. He didn’t think he was at all biased for believing this. Sure, he thought he ran off with his head half-cocked, but that was who James T. Kirk was. And even though it got his blood boiling at times, it was part of what he loved about his husband.

Bones gave Jim a gentle nod and Jim smiled softly. He did like knowing that Bones was proud of him. He knew he could be a pain in the ass at the best of times, but he also knew that Bones was proud of him. He let go of a long sigh and turned his head forward again. The words he’d just spoken to his crew held resonance and seemed to weigh as heavy as the darkness they were spiraling through. They would soon find out what was beyond the nebula they were coursing into.


	3. No Room for Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ship is attacked and the crew is separated. Time to regroup.

James T. Kirk did not believe in a no-win situation, but who was this a no-win situation for? The ship was crippled and the ship was being invaded. He wasn’t about to back down. He didn’t believe in no-win situations for himself and he wasn’t about to let his crew suffer for his choices, yet they seemed to on a regular basis. No one really questioned him. They always had as much faith in him as he did in them. Even now with everyone abandoning the ship, he wasn’t about to give up.

When Bones had stepped onto the turbolift with Spock, Kirk felt his heart clench tightly in his chest. The last time the Enterprise had been taken over, he’d ordered Bones back to their quarters. With the Borg had come it’s own level of panic. He had regretted sending Bones to their quarters, but he had to be safe. He had to be the one to unassimilate those of the crew who had been assimilated. This time, as he went with Spock, Kirk was terrified that he wouldn’t come back to him.

He supposed this was how Bones felt every single time he went off on a dangerous mission. He couldn’t blame him, not really. The two of them had a connection that not many Earthlings did. Jonesey had explained that to them after they’ switched bodies with Carol and Uhura. Kirk was grateful for that connection, having been close to very few people in his life, but he wasn’t as close to anyone as he was Bones, not even his first officer.

Though having the two of them together did put Kirk’s heart at ease. He knew the two of them would take care of each other no matter what they found on the ship. He did his best to focus on something else, but when Spock checked in and was cut off by phaser beams, Kirk put Sulu in charge of the bridge and took a team out to join the rest of those who were already fighting against the intruders.

He couldn’t find Bones and Spock, but he did find the leader of the intruders Spock had been trying to tell him about. After running off the bridge, he got caught up with the leader quite quickly. The addressed him by name as he held him by his throat, which seemed a bit odd to Kirk. He wasn’t sure how he would know he was the captain of the ship, but there was so much going on, all of that couldn’t process. He was worried about his crew. He was worried about Spock. Mostly, he was worried about Bones. He was sure he understood more and more now how Bones felt every time he risked his life. He silently vowed with his throat caught in the alien’s grip that he would do better by Bones after this. (There was no room for doubt that they would get out of this alive. He never allowed that type of thinking and he wasn’t about to start now.)

He wasn’t sure how he had gotten free from the vice grip, but he was suddenly being flung across the corridor. He had to assume Mr. Scott had gotten the warp drive redirected to the impulse drive. Kirk pulled himself to a communication pad for an update. Chekov and Sulu verified what he had been hoping he’d never have to hear.

“We are losing the inertial dampeners,” Chekov replied first.

“Systems are failing ship-wide, Captain,” Sulu reported as Kirk’s head fell. “Emergency bulkheads are sealing, but structural integrity is at 18 percent and falling, sir.”

The ship was doomed. Admitting defeat (at least for now), he gave the order to evacuate the ship. As the alarm sounded throughout the ship, Kirk asked Sulu what he could do to give the escape pods the time to escape. Sulu informed the captain that it wasn’t possible until the saucer was released. Jim knew what he needed to do and headed in that direction.

He wasn’t able to separate the saucer section before the leader of the attack party stopped him. Attempting to get back to the controls to disconnect the saucer, he caught a glimpse of Uhura just as the partition came up and what was left of the ship was separated and he had no other choice but to run back to the bridge. He had to know where the rest of his crew was. Sulu told him that the rest of the crew had gotten off the saucer section but that the intruders had taken them. This rescue mission had evolved into more than he had anticipated.

Giving the orders for the rest of them to get off the ship in the Kelvin pods, he stood watching through the main viewer as the saucer hurtled it’s way toward the planet. Once he knew everyone else was off the ship, he took his own place in his kelvin pod and watched as it escaped the saucer and the saucer landed on the ground below. Everything had happened so quickly and his mind was reeling in a million different directions, but the thing foremost on his mind was his husband as his Kelvin pod landed on the planet’s surface.

He was immediately on his feet and out of his pod as he ran after Kalara. She had known that attack was coming and Kirk wanted answers. He’d led his crew into an attack and she was going to tell him why she’d lied. From the moment they reached the other side of the nebula, he’d known that her rescue mission was a farce. He hadn’t been able to do anything until this moment, but he was going to get answers from her. Phaser held on her, he told Chekov who had come up quickly behind him, trying to stop him from shooting Kalara where she stood. Kalara admitted her deceit and Kirk asked Chekov if he could pick up anyone on his scans. He didn’t lower his phaser until Kalara said she was protecting her crew. Still not trusting her, it was only that that would make him lower his weapon. His crew was his family and he understood. He would do everything for his crew.

/\ /\ /\

Bones pulled himself out of the alien ship he and Mr. Spock had found themselves in before crash landing on the planet, looking around. The rocky terrain wasn’t comforting at all. God forbid they should crashland on a lush, tropical planet. No, it had to be the most inhospitable place imaginable. And to top it off, his companion was none other than the dull as rocks Vulcan commander himself.

He turned back to see the commander climbing out of the pod just after him, noticing debris jutting out of his side. Bones was a doctor, he couldn’t just stand there, even if it was Spock who was the one injured. He and Kirk had been married less than a year, and even though he knew where Jim’s heart was, he was still jealous of their friendship, if he was being truly honest with himself. Though in this moment, with Spock injured as he was, his jealousy had to take a backseat while the doctor’s instinct took the wheel.

He helped him down from the ship that was barely big enough for the both of them and helped him to rest against it. He had to find a way to help Spock. In spite of their obvious dislike for the other, Bones knew they were all a family, the Enterprise crew, and Jim would never forgive him if he let Spock just die. Bones couldn’t and wouldn’t anyway. Hippocratic oath prevented it. In spite of how much he was jealous of the man, he realized it was he himself who was married to Jim, not the pointy-eared, dying bastard in front of him.

“Okay, now just, uh, try and relax. You’re going to be okay.”

“The forced optimism in your voice suggests that you are trying to elicit a sense of calm in order to--” Spock said, not for once believing the doctor’s falsities, but Bones cut him off, not needing his bullshit either.

“Cut the horseshit!”

“Doctor,” Spock said, lifting his head and looking at his colleague, “I fail to see how excrement of any kind bears relevance on our current situation.”

He gripped at the doctor’s shoulder to help pull himself off, but the doctor wouldn’t have any of that either, placing his hand to the Vulcan’s chest and pushing him back down. “What the hell are you doing?” Spock explained that they needed to keep moving, but Bones knew that if they continued with the doodad jutting out from his side, they weren’t going to get anywhere. “If I can’t take this out, you’re gonna die. Okay? If I take this out and can’t stop the bleeding, you’re going to die.”

Spock regarded the Earthling for a moment. “I can see no appeal in either option.”

“Believe it or not,” Bones said, looking up at the man, “neither can I.” Making sure he was staying put, Bones moved to find something from the ship that would make due for him to perform rudimentary and quick surgery here in the wilderness. (Though truth be told, he wasn’t sure how far they were from anyone; it just seemed very much like the wilderness with no cities around for miles, if at all on this planet.)

“Now,” he continued speaking, “if I remember correctly, Vulcan’s have their heart where a human has their… their liver.”

“That is correct, doctor.”

“You know you’re lucky,” Bones spoke as he started pulling at the broken ship to find pieces that could be used to assist him, “an inch to the left--” his words halted for a moment as the piece he was pulling at made way and he stumbled back, “and you would have been dead already.” Standing, he walked over toward him. This had to be the longest they’d ever talked to each other when they weren’t arguing about Jim or trading insults. “I just don’t get it, Spock, I mean what, what did they attack us for?”

The two of them continued to discuss their predicament, but it was really only to keep Spock talking because he was losing blood at an extreme rate and Bones was doing his best to keep him coherent as he worked to save him. He internally laughed when the green-blooded hobgoblin managed to insult him not only once but twice even as he was bleeding against a tiny alien ship on the rocky surface of the planet they’d just plummeted down to. Only the two of them would exchange barbs while one of them was potential dying. Though Spock wasn’t going to die on Dr. McCoy’s watch.

Standing, he walked over toward Spock again once his instrument was ready. “Alright, Spock, I just got one question…” He thought for a split second before asking the most off the wall question he could come up with, especially for a Vulcan. “What’s your favorite color?”

At that, he yanked the protrusion from Spock’s side and immediately cauterizing the wound as his Vulcan crewmate howled out into the rocky expanse. Once he was sure that Spock could get up and walk about, he helped the man to his feet. At least he wouldn’t have to tell Kirk how the green-blooded first officer bled out the moment they landed.

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps before Spock was insisting he walk on his own. He insisted on it and Bones had no issue with allowing it. They had to find the rest of the crew. Taking his communicator out of his pocket, he tried to call to the ship. He wanted to call Kirk directly, but he was never one to act on those impulses. He did what was regulation, what was mandated of him. When he and Jim got married, Starfleet had admonished them to remember to put their duties and their crew above each other." Having been together since their first year at the academy, they were used to putting everything ahead of them. At times it cut each of them to the core, yet they continued to do as mandate dictated.

With no answer, he went back to chastising his crewmate about taking it easy, just as he would any of his patients. Yes, they had to find the crew, but if he passed out while they were, Bones wouldn’t just leave him there and then they wouldn't be finding them. With the rocky terrain, though, and the narrow chasm path they’d found, bones had no problem allowing Spock to grope out his own path.

Bones came up behind Spock after they’d crouched to walk  through a low-hanging portal on their path, they both stopped, staring up at a window into a cavern. Aerial creatures of some sort flew from the opening and the two men expressed themselves in vastly different ways.

“Fascinating.” Spock’s typical response.

And Bones’ typical response. “Ominous. Dark. Dangerous.” The two exchanged a look before Spock made his way toward the cavern. “We’re going in there.”

For being two completely different beings, Bones understood why Jim and Spock were friends. They were two of a kind cut from two completely different cloths. Spock was half human, and Bones wondered if that’s where he got his adventurous side from, his curious side. He’d never been a fan of Vulcans, not many humans weren’t. For as long as he could remember, and the stories he’d heard of others who had known Vulcans since First Contact, most people weren’t fans of the cold, pointy-eared aliens. (Though feelings of jealousy where Kirk was concerned aside, Spock was probably the best of the entire lot.)

As the crewmates entered the cavern, they found that it had been inhabited at one point, maybe even still and those who came here were simply out. Spock noted the markings on the walls and ceilings and they both inferred together that the box they had been offering to the pint-sized aliens only days ago had come from here. Though that was about as far as they got into the hows and the whys before Spock doubled over in pain and fell to the ground. Bones had actually been wondering how long the Vulcan could hold out. Running to his side, he helped him lay down as comfortably as possible on the hard ground. There was no telling how long they were going to be here, but they were off to a great start.

“I believe my body is informing me that I need to … relax, doctor.”

Bones sighed, shaking his head. He could have told him that much, but Bones only nodded his head. “Go ahead, Spock. We should be alright in here for the time being.” The sun was already starting to go down and he would watch over the Vulcan as he rested. Sitting himself down, he watched as the other man relaxed even more until he was resting as peacefully as possible. He knew the extent of his injury, but as long as he monitored him closely enough, Spock would be able to get the rest he needed.

He sat back against the wall and looked up toward the ceiling. He could already see the stars starting to peek through the holes that provided light for the tiny room-like cavern. He had to believe that he and Spock were not the only two remaining survivors. He was sure the invaders wouldn’t have taken the crew just to kill them once they were on the planet’s surface. That didn’t tell him where Jim was, though.

In spite of having been together for nearly six years now, the two hadn’t even been married for a year yet and he found himself more worried about him than he has the entire time he’d known James T. Kirk. Even though he knew Jim could take care of himself and did, he couldn’t help but wonder where he was and if he was alright. Even when Spock had marooned him on Delta Vega, Bones hadn’t worried about him nearly as much as he was now.

Then he thought of Jones McKirk, the Koerh they’d adopted just before they got married. (He had no idea if he’d survived the attack or not, but he wasn’t focusing on him. All he could focus on at this moment was Jim.) He realized that Jones would tell him to believe in Jim. He always had before now and he knew it. He did have faith that his husband would pull through this and he would be the one to rescue the rest of the crew and somehow, even being cut off from Starfleet, he would find a way of getting them out of there.

If there was one thing Bones knew above all else it was that James T. Kirk would not let anyone defeat him and he would not let anyone hurt his crew. His crew was his family, just as much as Bones was. That had never bothered him. It melted his heart to watch his husband lead his crew so flawlessly. Sure, he’d given Jim a hard time about how much he pushed himself through the academy to make officer as quickly as he did, but he never once doubted him. He knew he could and would do anything he set his mind to.

As the sky darkened through the holes in the ceiling, he sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He knew his connection to Jim was stronger than anyone’s he knew. He knew he was alright. In spite of how much he was worrying about his husband, he knew he was alright and he knew he would be alright. It was only a matter of time before Kirk found him and Spock and they would get the hell out of Dodge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are asking who Jones McKirk is, it is an animal companion (pet) I created from an earlier installment in this series. Please go back and read the three other parts of this story if you haven't already and you will understand a lot more of the headspace in this story.


	4. Pitter-Patter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bones realizes Spock isn't as dull as he has always believed.

_Bones felt warm and comfortable. He could smell coffee as he opened his eyes to his husband walking into the bedroom carrying two cups of coffee in one hand and holding Joanna on his opposite hip. It was the most beautiful site Bones was sure he’d ever seen in his life. He never thought that he could have this. After his divorce, he never thought he’d have the typical happily ever after people thought about. Even during his marriage to Shawna, he thought that happily ever after wasn’t for him._

_He had been wrong._

_“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Jim said, setting his 5-year-old stepdaughter on the bed beside her father._

_Joanna crawled over and snuggled up beside her father as he sat up against the headboard. He turned his head slightly after accepting the cup of coffee from his husband, kissing the top of her head. Smiling, he looked back at his husband who sat on the other side of Joanna, curling up with the both of them and his own cup of coffee._

_“Good morning, daddy!” Joanna smiled up at both of them. “Daddy Jim and I cooked breakfast old school-- in the oven!”_

_Bones couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at his husband. “And you’re not burning down the house? I’m impressed, Jim.”_

_Jim shrugged his shoulders and smiled at his husband. “I learned from the best. You wouldn’t burn down the house, would you?”_

_Bones leaned his head against Jim’s shoulder. This was exactly what Bones longed for, but even as he realized that, he realized this wasn’t real. He and Jim weren’t home with Joanna. She wasn’t 5 years old. Joanna was a teenager. She was 14 years old. He hadn’t even known Jim when she was five years old._

He lifted his head to look at his husband and suddenly he was looking at Spock whom he’d had his head rested on his shoulder instead of Jim. Pulling back quickly, he shuddered in disgust at himself. Though quickly pulling himself together, he realized that Spock wasn’t breathing. He blinked and reached out to shake his companion, grabbing his face.

“Spock! Spock! Wake up, dammit!”

Spock’s eyes opened to a sight he never thought he’d behold. Dr. McCoy was holding his face, looking at him with panic and concern. Spock slowly and calmly spoke to the excitable man, “I am entirely conscious, doctor.” Pulling the doctor’s grasp from his face, he explained, “I was simply contemplating the nature of mortality.”

Bones sighed, nearly rolling his eyes at his comrade as he turned to sit back beside him against the wall. “Feeling philosophical, huh?” That wasn’t anything new. Though, he considered, Spock was probably feeling it more so, considering his current state. “Massive blood loss will do that to you.”

After a few brief moments of silence, though not altogether uncomfortable, Bones noted, Spock turned his head toward him. “You asked me why Lt. Uhura and I parted ways?... I became concerned, in the light of Vulcan’s demise, that I owed a debt of duty to my species.”

Bones understood. “You thought you should be off making little Vulcans, huh? Yeah, I can see how that’d upset her.”

Bones thought back to a few minutes ago when he’d been sleeping, the happy picture in his dream of him and Jim back on Earth with a much younger Joanna. He’d never thought about him and Jim having children together, even with the possibilities that were open to them, but his dream and the conversation he was having with the one man on the crew who he’d ever felt jealousy toward concerning his husband, he couldn't help but think about what they could have.

Having families aboard ships, especially on ships that had missions like the Enterprise did, it wasn’t _logical_. Though, he had to really wonder if that’s how it would be forever. Maybe someday it would be safer for them to have families on all ships on all types of missions. Now that he was really thinking about it, he wondered if Jim would ever want it in spite of what happened when he was born.

Spock continued; his gaze downward. Ever the eternal contemplator. “I intended to discuss it with her further, but I received some news that affected me unexpectedly.”

Spock had never shared so much, not with Bones no less, and he was intrigued to listen to his half-Vulcan comrade without any ounce of artifice. “What news?”

“Ambassador Spock has died.”

Bones swallowed. Sure, he knew that other realities existed, because of Spock’s older counterpart, but it wasn’t something he thought about on a regular basis. He tried not to think about it. Different timelines and realities tended to make his head scramble like a skillet of eggs and hashbrowns. He had to realize, though, that hearing this news would elicit a reaction that he, even as a Vulcan, would not be all too familiar with. Bones himself had no idea how he would react.

“Well,” Bones shook his head, “Spock, I’m so sorry.” He thought for a moment, trying to wrap his brain around it. “I can’t imagine what that must… feel like.”

Spock paused only briefly before surmising, “When you lived as many lives as he, fear of death is illogical.”

“Fear of death,” Bones replied without a moment’s pause, turning to look at him, “is what keeps us alive.”

Spock turned his head back to Bones and the two of them shared a look if only for a brief second before Spock looked down again. His brain never stopped contemplating, never stopped thinking. “I want to live as he did,” he told Bones resolutely before turning back to look at Bones. “That is why I decided to redirect my efforts and continue his work on New Vulcan.”

Bones hadn’t expected this revelation. “You’re leaving Starfleet?” Spock looked away and Bones questioned further at his silence, “What did Jim have to say about that?”

Spock simply shook his head. “I could not find the time to tell him.”

“Well, I can tell you, he’s not going to like that.” In the moment he said this, he was realizing so much. “Hell, I don’t know what he’d do without ya. You know me, on the other hand,” he started, attempting to lighten the heavy mood, “I’d-- I’d throw a party.” The two of them laughed shortly before Spock laughed more fully than Bones was sure he’d ever seen the man laugh. “My God! You’re getting delirious!”

Shaking his head, he turned his gaze toward the holes in the ceiling and walls. "We should probably get going again. We've got to find Jim and the rest of the crew." He wasn't about to believe that the alien had taken his husband. He knew Jim was out there looking for him the same way he needed to be back on his feet looking for him. He knew he was pushing the injured science officer more than he should be, but they weren't going to find Jim huddled up together in a cave where one of them was obviously losing his mind.


	5. Optimism in the Face of Uncertainty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirk and Chekov find Montgomery Scotty and his new friend. Or rather, Montgomery Scotty and his new friend throw out the welcome mat for them.

The sun had been up for hours and Jim and Chekov had been heading toward the coordinates from the call Kalara had placed. Kirk felt as though he’d let his entire crew down. More so, he felt as though he’d let Bones down. He had promised several times that he would stop running after trouble, and this time (like so many others), he brought the crew along with. Sure, they had not known that this is what the rescue mission would turn into, but Jim kicked himself because he felt as though he should have realized what was going on long before it happened.

When Chekov asked when he had suspected that Kalara, his reply of “Not soon enough” spoke volumes of precisely how James T. Kirk was feeling right now. Even when he had started to suspect her, it had been too late. They were already on the other side of the nebula and were at the beginning of the attack. It had come faster than expected and his crew paid the price. And in the same instant,  he was explaining to Chekov how he figured it out, he and Chekov were immediately trapped by a cloud of gas that transformed as it grew around them into a solid, suspending them from going any further. His nose for danger was batting miss for miss lately.

There was no telling how long the two of them would be there. They were able to talk to each other, but beyond that, they were immobilized by the crystallizing substance. Jim sighed heavily, wondering just how much he could possibly screw up. Instantly, he chastised himself for asking such a thing. He could and would get out of this, but he couldn’t help but think about what would happen when he told Bones about this.

_ “Of all the harebrained…” _

_ “Bones,” Jim cut  him off. “I’m alive, right? We all are! I told you everything would be okay.” He always made sure to tell his husband that it would be alright, even when he had no way of knowing whether it would be or not. How could he possibly know that everything is going to turn out alright when he’s going in? He couldn’t, but that didn’t stop him from promising his husband that. _

When the Borg had taken over the ship, he’d promised a very worried Pavel Chekov that Mr. Scott would be alright when they found him, and even having no way of knowing whether he actually was or not, he had been right about it. 

He had made it a point to always be optimistic in every situation, especially when Bones was around. Bones was quite pessimistic at the best of times, but Jim had grown accustomed to it.

He wished his grumpy husband was there with him right now to assure that things were going to be alright. He wasn’t. Chekov was there with him though and he wouldn’t let his young friend be discouraged in any way. 

When he had found out that Chekov and Mr. Scott had ended their relationship a few months back, Kirk took it upon himself to make sure the young man didn’t fall off the deep end. Although, he was sure helping the young man to some of Bones’ stash of hard liquor wasn’t the best of ideas. He always liked to drown himself in the hardest bottle of liquor he could find when something was bothering him. He saw nothing wrong with helping the young ensign drown his pain in the same way.

_ “I don’t understand, Keptin,” the young ensign said, staring into the amber colored liquid. “Nosing vas vrong.” His Russian accent was coming out a bit stronger than usual because of the Saurian brandy Kirk had absconded from medical where Bones kept it locked away for  _ medicinal purposes _. “Jus’ zhis morning ve voke up in each other’s arms, and now…” _

_ Kirk laid his hand on Pavel’s back. He had no idea how the younger man had to be feeling right now. He knew how he might feel if he and Bones ever broke up, but now it wouldn’t just be a breakup. They were married now and had been almost six months. If they broke up, it would mean a divorce and it would mean Bones’ second divorce. He never saw that happening, though. What he and Bones had, in spite of their spats, was stronger than that. He really never thought something like that would ever happen to him and Bones.  _

_ That didn’t mean that he didn’t feel bad for Chekov and couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t worried about how he and Scotty were going to continue working together on the Enterprise. He’d been witnessing it with other members of his crew. Prolonged cohabitations have had different effects on the entire crew, some for the best like in his case with Bones, and some for the worst. He hadn’t wanted for Chekov and Scotty to be among the worst, but he knew in spite of their falling out, he had every confidence that the two of them would continue to perform admirably.  _

_ “It’ll be alright, Chekov. I promise.” _

Despite saying that as much as he did, things did tend to turn out for the best. The two had not gotten back together, and as much as he knew the two of them still loved each other, he wasn’t sure if they would be getting back together, not as long as they both lived and worked together on the Enterprise. 

It had taken Chekov just short of a few months to realize this. They had always and would always work well together, but they couldn’t work as closely as they did and continue on their relationship. With these two, it had to be one or the other. Once Chekov understood that, things between the two of them eased back into the comfortable camaraderie once more. Though even now, Kirk could tell they still loved each other and most likely always would. Perhaps after their 5-year mission was over, they could take different assignments and be together, just like Sulu and his husband, Ben.

Chekov was saying something about the geometric gravitation or something when Kirk heard rustling ahead of them. “Chekov!” he hushed him and the young ensign silenced beside him. 

No more than a few seconds later, a lady some species Jim Kirk had never seen before came toward them. She must have been the one who had set this crystallizing fog to capture them. He was about to try negotiating their safety with her until he heard Scotty’s voice and saw him coming up behind her.

“You know these men?”

“Aye, lassie. That wee man there is Pavel Chekov.” Chekov uttered his hello. ”And that handsome man is James T. Kirk. They’re ma mates!”

Without saying anything, the woman charged up her weapon and Kirk was pretty sure he was expecting to feel something equivalent to a bolt of electricity from the sound it made as she charged it up. Instead, the mixture that had held him and Chekov suspended above the ground released them and they and it fell to the ground instantly. He heard her say something like “You’re free, James T.” as he came crashing down to the ground.

“Mr. Scott!” Jim heard Chekov exclaim as he lifted his head to see them hugging tightly. He was glad none of the tension that had been between the two of them after they broke up still lingered. 

“Who’s your new friend here?” he asked, pulling himself from the dirt. “She sure knows how to throw out a welcome mat.”

“This is Jayla,” Scotty introduced the alien woman. 

“I do not know what is a  _ welcome mat _ .”

“You find anybody else?” he asked, needing to know.

“No, sir. I’m sorry. You’re the only ones. What the hell happened up there, Jim? Why were we attacked?”

“They were after the artifact we brought back from T’Lax.”

“Did they get it?”

“No.”

“Have you got it?”

“No, I had to get it off the Enterprise. I put it in a shuttle.”

“You hid it in a shuttle?”

“Yes… And no…”

“Well,” Scotty said, shaking his head. “Thanks for clearing that up.”

“We cannot stand here like this,” Jayla said, interrupting the confusion. “I will take you back to my house.”

Kirk looked over to Scotty and he nodded, letting Jayla lead them back to the USS Franklin. Once they got back there, Scotty explained where they were and Jim was glad that they had gotten the systems up and working. He put Chekov to work on finding the rest of their crew. With any luck, they’d be able to locate the rest of them, and they’d be off that godforsaken planet in no time.


	6. But Only Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Montgomery Scotty comes up with a plan and he needs his captain's permission.

Jayla and Scotty showed the two of them around her house prompting Jim to ask how the ship had gone undiscovered all this time. Jayla and Scotty took him up on top of the ship to where she’d fashioned image refractors. Jim was impressed with the holographic camouflage, but the external tour of the ship was preempted by Chekov’s announcement that he’d detected a Starfleet signal. Jim’s heart jumped in his chest. He honestly could care less who’s signal Chekov found from the crew, but deep down he hoped it was Bones’ transmission the ensign found.

Jim jumped down the shaft even before Chekov who’d just come up it, running over to the computer panels where Chekov had been working. Chekov hadn’t said, but from the ensign’s excitement, he was sure it was Bones who he had located. Chekov wasn’t but a moment behind him. Jim did his best to remain calm, even though his heart was nestled snuggly in his throat, asking Chekov if he could lock onto the signal. Of course, Chekov was capable, but he wondered how they would get to them. It was at that moment that Mr. Scott raised his hand and they all looked over at him as he started.

“I have an idea, sir,” the engineer told him tentatively, “but I’m going to need your permission.”

Kirk couldn’t for the life of him imagine why Scott was asking in that way. “Why would you need my permission?” He would have thought it would be something Scott would just offer, like usual.

“Because, if I mess it up, I don’t want it to be just my fault.”

That wasn’t something he was expecting out of Scotty’s mouth, but considering what he proceeded to explain, he understood fully. Jim already knew how Bones felt about transporters and considering these transporters were used primarily for cargo, he could already hear Bones chastising them (mostly Jim) about how dangerous and irresponsible it was to be jumbling up his molecules and with such rudimentary technology. Though this was Montgomery Scott suggesting it. Jim trusted him explicitly with transporting the one person who meant the most to him in his life.

/\ /\ /\

“Come on, Spock,” Bones said, heaving him up and pulling his arm over his shoulder. “Come on. You can make it.”

“Leaving me behind will significantly increase your chances of survival, Doctor,” Spock said, shuffling along at Bones’ side.

“Well that's damn chivalrous of you,” Bones deadpanned, “but completely out of the question.” Leaving him behind wasn’t even a question. Even if it had been, Jim would never forgive him.

“ It is imperative that you locate any surviving crew.”

Internally, Bones almost laughed. “Here I was thinking you cared.”

Even as he said the words, three of Krall's bees swarmed in overhead. The two of them watched as they hovered closer and closer to them. 

“Of course, I care, Leonard,” the pointy-eared man spoke slowly. “I always assumed my respect for you was clear.” He turned toward the doctor, sincerely wishing to convey what he felt for him. “The dialogue we have had across the years has always--”

Bones was never a particularly vocal man, and even in the face of death, he wasn’t about to tell the man how he truly felt about him. Things didn’t always need to be said, not even in the face of death. That, and he wasn’t Jim. “It's okay, Spock. You don't have to say it.” The two men looked back at the bees closing in on them and Bones did feel some sort of relief in the situation. “Well, at least I won't die alone.” Even as he said those words, though, Spock was transported out of the ravine and Bones turned to find himself alone. “Well, that's just typical.” He braced himself for what was to come. He held up his hands as if he was going to take the bees in hand-to-hand combat, as ridiculous as it was.

Yet as he yelled his last words up at them, the swirl of lights appeared around him and he was transported from the spot that he stood to an unfamiliar transporter pad. Completely disoriented, he spun around, trying to get a sense of where he was, even as his insides reticulated within him. His surroundings disoriented him as much as being transported had and he was trying to figure out not only what had happened but where he was.

“Good to see you in one piece, Doctor!”

Even seeing a familiar face and hearing his voice, Dr. Leonard McCoy was having a difficult time acclimating himself. “Oh… Am I?” he inquired as Montgomery Scott approached him. “I feel like my innards have been to a barn dance.”

“Aye,” Scotty said, placing his hand on Bones’ shoulder and walking with him slowly from the transporter pad, “well these old transporters were only ever used for cargo, but a few modifications seemed to do the trick. I thought it was best to beam you one at a time, though, in case you got,” he contorted his hands in a circular motion, “you know, spliced.”

“Oh,” he nodded, turning to see Spock standing doubled over next to the one person who would and did immediately set him at ease. Jim. He was sure the two of them had had their jokes about transporting him the way they had. Jim of all people knew how much Bones detested transporters. “Couldn’t imagine a worse scenario.”

“Good to have you back,” Jim greeted his husband as calmly as was expected of the two of them. They could show each other how grateful they were for the other’s safety later. They had work to do right now. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Bones replied, waving off the concern, especially because he truly was alright knowing that Jim was safe and in one piece. “He’s hurt,” he informed the captain, indicating with the turn of his head to Spock.

“I am functioning adequately, captain,” Spock argued.

“In a pig’s eye, you are!”

“Captain,” Spock continued, getting right down to business, “we discovered that the stolen artifact appears to have come from this planet.” He barely got that much of what he wanted to say out before he was near fainting and fell against the captain and then teetering back into the doctor. 

“Spock!” he reprimanded him, turning to look at the rest of them. “Are there any medical supplies on this thing?”

The woman whom Bones hadn’t met but inferred she was friend and not foe lead them from the room. “This way!”

Bones helped his husband and captain move Spock. Jim helped him lay down, talking to him just like Bones had done when he was pulling the debris from Spock’s side, but it was more than that. This was Jim helping his friend and first officer thinking about what needed to be done about the crew and getting all of them off of this godforsaken planet.

“Captain,” Spock said, knowing what his captain was trying to do, “you must focus your efforts on helping the crew.”

“That’s what I need you around, Spock,” Jim told him, nodding his head and following Spock’s gaze toward Bones.

Bones knew what the look he got from the first officer meant in light of their conversation back in the cave they’d taken shelter in for the night. Now wasn’t the time and Bones knew from the look he didn’t want Bones to bring it up anyway. He knew the Vulcan wanted to bring it up with Jim when everything had calmed and they were out of this situation.

Almost throwing his hands up in supplication, Bones shook his head. “These things are from the Dark Ages,” he uttered his excuse for why he had simply been sitting there.

Jim had faith in Bones though as he motioned for him to do what he did best. Bones moved from where he had been sifting through the old-fashioned medical supplies Jayla had brought him in a box and started to administer to the bleeding Vulcan. He narrated his actions, another way of distracting the patient. 

“‘I’m pretty sure this is a protoplaser,” he said, lifting Spock’s shirt to expose the wound. “It should stop the internal hemorrhaging. At least that’s my hope.”

“The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.”

Bones glanced at his husband, shaking his head. “Death’s door and he’s quoting Shakespeare.” He continued to heal his patient with what he had at his disposal. At least it was much better than what he had had back at the alien pod they’d climbed out of. 

The captain stayed beside the doctor’s and first officer’s side the entire time the doctor was administering medical aid to him. Though it wasn’t the captain in him that was there beside the two of them. It was Jim who stood beside his husband who was helping his best friend. He hadn’t wanted to believe that either of them could have been dead. He hadn’t wanted to believe that any of the rest of the crew could be dead, and having Bones and Spock back gave him hope that the rest of them would be alright.

Once the doctor was finished with Spock, he nodded to him. “He’s going to be fine,” Bones said, though kept the part about admonishing him to take it easy to himself, knowing that the pointy-eared commander wouldn’t take his doctor’s warning.

Jim looked up at Jayla, wondering out loud. “Are there any officer’s uniforms aboard -- uh,” he corrected himself, knowing that she called the Franklin her home and not a ship, “here in your house?”

She gave him a smile. “I will bring them for your mate,” she told him as she left the room.

Jim smiled back down at his best friend and exhaled slowly. “I’ll meet you on the bridge, okay?” He wasn’t expecting Spock to do too much. They had to focus on finding the crew, but he was sure Spock’s brain was at top capacity even if his body wasn’t.

Spock simply nodded and closed his eyes to relax there until their newfound friend returned with a new uniform for him to wear so he could get out of the bloody ones. Jim turned to Bones, giving him a slight smile and inhaling deeply. “I need you, Doctor. Come with me?”

Bones took a deep breath, looking down at his patient and then back to his husband. “Yeah.”

The two of them stood and headed out of the room to head in a roundabout way toward the bridge. They really didn’t have time to show the other just how grateful they were that the other was alright, but at least they could take two minutes together before the five crew members they had together could figure out their next course of action to locate and rescue the rest of the crew.

Neither of them wanted to get nor would they get overly mushy. They were glad to see the other was alive and would settle for a hug once they were away from everyone else. Their arms wrapped around each other and they held each other tightly. Neither of them said a word for the longest time. They really just wanted and needed to hold each other. It really was all they needed to make themselves feel better. 

Jim pulled back to look at the man, inhaling slowly as he looked into his husband’s hazel eyes. He still didn’t say anything, knowing his husband preferred it when he kept his wise-ass remarks to himself. Though he oddly didn’t have any at this moment. He was too grateful that Bones was alive and in one piece. Instead of saying anything, he leaned in and kissed him deeply. It really was all either of them needed. There would be plenty of time for the two of them to just hold each other and so much more once they got back to Yorktown. For right now, they just had this brief moment before regrouping with Spock, Scotty and Chekov. It was all they needed for right now.


End file.
